Bicycling the Danube - 5 - Budapest

Sunday, 6 September and Monday, 7 September 2026

We're off the bike now - it's no longer "Bicycling the Danube". We had two conventional "tourist days" in Budapest, then a travel day, followed by two days in Prague.

Our hotel is on the Buda side of the Danube, but we spent Sunday across the river in Pest. Monday we split the day between Buda and Pest.

A view of Castle Hill from the Pest side of the Danube. The red brick church is the Reformed (Calvinist) Church. St. Matthias is the large church at the left. Fisherman's Bastion is the low wall and tower behind the Reformed Church and to the right of St. Mathias.

This recent "Memorial to the Victims of the German Occupation" is supposed to show an eagle (Nazi Germany) plucking an orb-with-cross from Hungary (angel below). But since Hungary was complicit with the Nazis early on, is it Hungary offering the orb to Germany?

As a protest to the memorial above, a makeshift counter-memorial underneath tells the story of Jews persecuted (and worse) during WWII. The sign at the far left states, "He who denies his past sins is able to repeat them at any time."

St. István (St. Stephen) Basilica. It's Sunday, so no going into the basilica until after the noon mass.

We did return to the basilica later in the afternoon, during the 4 PM English mass.

The Great Market Hall was open, but because it was Sunday, only about a third of the shops were open.

Hungarian cuisine is not particularly spicy, but this shop was all about garlic and chiles.

A bit of whimsy. This large globe of the moon hangs in an arcade near the Elizabeth Bridge.

Evening view of the Parliament Building. Classic Budapest.

We were there.

"The Flutist", is apparently not one of the bronze "Kolodko Miniatures" scattered around Budapest, but was one done in the same style by a different artist. According to maps, we passed several authentic Kolodkos, but didn't notice. You could spend an interesting day in Budapest trying to track down these mini-sculptures.

View from Castle Hill with the Chain Bridge in the foreground and the Parliament in the center.

The Turul Bird statue on Castle Hill. This mythical bird supposedly led the Magyars to their "permanent home" in today's Hungary.

The King Matthias Fountain.

I thought the hunting dogs at the center of the fountain to be particularly realistic.

The raven bearing a ring is a symbol of King Matthias Corvinus, the last Hungarian King.
Left & Center: Raven Gate on Castle Hill with construction cranes in the background. Right: Raven atop St. Matthias Church.

St. Matthias Church. The raven is on the pinnacle at the far right.

The altar in St. Matthias Church.

St. Matthias Church.

St. Matthis Church.

St. István at Fisherman's Bastion.

After Castle Hill, we crossed the Danube and visited a few sites we didn't get to on Sunday.

The Great Synagogue is the anchor of the Jewish Quarter.

The Memorial Garden on the grounds of the Great Synagogue is dedicated to those who died during WWII. The number who died in 1945 is astounding.

The Tree of Life. The leaves bear the names of Holocaust victims.

We finished our day's wanderings at Heroes' Square at the top of Andrássy Út. This vast plaza holds memorials of Hungarian history.

A bronze sculpture in Heroes' Square.